glass repair UPDATE - VERY IMPRESSED

[jape]

My Longhorn bow is starting to freckle, as seen below. I have asked the manufacturer for comments as it is gone beyond what I would call merely cosmetic and he says: "Honestly it doesn't look good. You can keep shooting it, but keep an eye on the limbs--if the spots "grow", I wouldn't shoot it anymore."

Now I appreciate his honesty and he is going to look further into it. I also respect that those who owned it before me obviously had no idea it would happen. It is just a huge disappointment for me as I haven't had it long, less than six months, or shot that much through it, a few hundred is all.

I wonder if it is possible to sand off the outer layers (it is happening front and back) and re-do them. Or would you expect this failure to be right through the bow?

Has anyone seen similar before?

I know from other threads that glass bows can last for decades. Chekmate has many good recommendations and reviews as a maker. But in general what age would one go to before you can expect a risk of failure?

[Coach]

It could just be cloudy bits in the glass , as no "clear glass " is actually clear . I have seen many bows with these type of spots in the glass .

[jape]

That would be great Coach, I hope you are right as I am a bit depressed about not using this bow, except that more than half of them have appeared over the last five months.

[Stickbow Hunter]

Jape,

It is hard to tell by the photo; are the marks in the glass or perhaps just the finish?

If they are in the glass have you only noticed them more as you are checking more carefully or have they definately gotten worse? I have seen clear glass which has looked like that when viewed at certain angles but the bows are still going fine.

Jeff

[Coach]

If they are in the glass have you only noticed them more as you are checking more carefully or have they definately gotten worse?

Good point Jeff ,, it's amazing what you notice when you get more paranoid and inspect more closely
Just keep shooting the bow and see what happens Jape , you have nothing to lose

[jape]

I'm not sure Jeff. They are not directly on the surface in the sense that rubbing them gently with a wet finger or a dry cloth doesn't alter them at all. They have certainly increased in number of late unfortunately. There were quite a few when I first got the bow and I posted about them then within a couple of days. I am sure they have increased lately but you see, I have used the bow more lately too. That's what worried me. And the thread by Steve on his failed bow attempt woke me up. I won't use it until I find out definitively one way or another, I have too many injury problems already to risk it!

The pics are on their way to Chekmate, forwarded by the Chekmate supplier in the US whom I had contacted to see if he had a comment as mentioned above. He seemed concerned. I should get an idea back soon from them I suppose. I told them I was well aware of having no warranty and just wanted information on safety, or of likely cause. I don't overdraw the bow, haven't dry-fired it, changed the string or altered the brace height and it is kept cool and dry but not in air-con. or central heating. It hasn't had rain or condensation on it so they aren't water marks.

I hope the marks are just in the finish and I can then cut and polish them or refinish in some way and continue to use the bow. I can't get a better focus with the camera, using macro already. I may have to travel to a shoot somewhere, sometime and get firsthand advice from more experienced archers.

[Stickbow Hunter]

Jape,

If it is in the finish it would be between the finish and the glass IMO so a wet cloth etc wouldn't make it look any different. If it is the finish I think you would find that you would be able to make it flake off but I wouldn't try this until you hear back from Checkmate.

In reality if it is going to break it will normally split lengthwise and make a loud noise but it isn't likely that you will be injured by the bow. However I know you do have some back problems etc and if the bow lets go you will go from being under strain of the drawn bow to no strain extremely quickly and I'm not sure if that would be a problem for you if it happened. If not, I would do as Coach has suggested, keep shooting it.

Please keep us up to date with what happens.

Jeff

[longbow steve]

Hi Jape, Are the spots new or have you just noticed them?
I feel it may be air caught between the glue and glass.
What is your draw length?
I have bows that are similar(worse)due to not expelling the air sufficiently upon glueing and is more apparent on bows that have dark laminations, I have and will continue to shoot these bows and to date have not had a failure. Keep an eye on it, keep your photos to compare but keep shooting it until you are certain it is getting worse.
Think of all the bows out there with Black glass that have the same problem . Steve

[jape]

The manufacturers, Chekmate, say it is a glue fault, they recognise it from the photos and have asked me to return it for replacement. They have had a couple before, one bad batch of glue.

So I wasn't just paranoid! I am very, very impressed with this for service, they know I wasn't the original purchaser and I found out yesterday it is ten years old! Naturally I will accept the cost of postage etc. under these circumstances as soon as I can save it up. Will wait and see and post what happens.